While it looks like 2012 will be a quad-core heavy year Asus is set to be the first out of the gate in 2011 with its Transformer Prime tablet which it has confirmed is going to be released on December 8.

Key Features:

Apart from the 1.3GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor the tablet is packing 1GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage under its 10.1″ display. There’s an 8mp camera on the rear, a 2mp camera on the front and when combined with the optional laptop dock can offer up to 18 hours of battery life. On it’s own it is expected to go 12 hours before it needs charging. Initially the Prime is going to come with Android 2.3 installed but an update to 4.0 won’t be far off. As before the dock turns the tablet into a laptop with a large keyboard but will cost around $150 extra.

Not surprisingly Taiwan will get the pleasure of the Prime’s company first as the tablet will arrive there December 1.Aside from the Transformer Prime December 8 is shaping up to be a busy day for tech hungry consumers as it’s rumoured that both the Galaxy Nexus and Droid 4 will be released as well.